I thought today, that we’d take a look at companies who create personalized books for kids. When I published my article about the importance and the benefits of reading to your kids, I already had this followup article in my mind: See, I know how much my own son Benni loves story time, but it becomes extra special when that story is all about him!
I’ve found three companies I’d like to take a closer look at. They all make personalized books either via Amazon or through their own websites. The first company I’m going to review really spells out what they do! So let’s take a look at Put Me In The Story.
What Are Personalized Books And How Do They Work
Personalized books are something very, very special. The difference in comparison with that “average” storybook is that YOUR kid is the hero in this book. There is no generic protagonist who you look at from the outside, but your kid is literally in the book and acts! That’s awesome and adds an entirely new twist to the excitement of any story time.
The way it usually works is that you visit the website of the company who prints these books and then the order process will talk you through every single step. They all work in a similar manner, which would be something like this:
Step 1
You select one of their many storybooks. What I mean by that is that you will choose between a book where the protagonist, for example, is a firefighter saving a cat from a tree, or you choose one where the hero is a mighty knight saving a princess, or one where the hero is a football player winning the super bowl etc.
You get the idea, right? You pick the story that you want YOUR kid to be the hero in!
Step 2
Now you would put in some personal information. Usually, you’re asked if your kid is a boy or girl, what his/her name is, their favorite color maybe and their favorite animal and the like.
This information is used to customize the book so that it will fit your kid’s personality. In our case, the hero should obviously be a boy, named Benni and wear green shoes (for example), as that is his favorite color.
Step 3
Finally, you will have to select the “physical” appearance of your kid-hero in the book. Things like skin, hair and eye-color or body size may play a role here! Just choose the option that fits your kid best 🙂
What happens next
After checkout, the company will customize and personalize the book according to the information that you gave them. They will then print the customized book and ship it to you. That’s it! Now it’s time to have fun with your kid’s new book!
Option #1 – Put Me In The Story
This company creates personalized versions of top selling children’s books. In order to ensure you can easily find the type of book you are looking for, you can choose from the list of options given that quickly narrow it down for you. You’re sure to find exactly what you’re looking for, from Princesses to Pirates, Super Hero’s to Dinosaurs, Put Me In The Story has it all.
From the Put Me In The Story range of books I chose a book by National Geographic entitled “The Little Kids Book of Ocean Animals”. In this book, your child is taken below the ocean waves to learn fun facts about fish, mammals, plants, and reptiles that live in the deep blue sea.
This book is filled with beautiful full-color photos of all your favorite ocean creatures as well as many more. From dolphins to jellyfish, your kids are sure to learn plenty about life in the big blue.
Age Recommendation: 4 to 8 years
==> Click here to see all “Put Me In The Story!” books <==
Option #2 – I See Me!
I See Me, have a huge range of books for you to personalize. Not only can you add your child’s name throughout the book, but you can even send in their photograph so that the leading character has their face throughout the story.
I See Me, has several different personalized ranges, including board books for babies and toddlers, hardcover books, photo books, coloring books, and gift sets.
The stories cover many different topics, from stories about your family dog to pirates, dinosaurs, unicorns, and fairy princesses. All the books have full-color whole page illustrations and fun imaginative stories your kids will love.
From the many books, they have available on Amazon, I chose “Goodnight Little (Child’s Name)”. This beautiful bedtime storybook, that includes your child’s name, birthdate and the year the book was given to them, as well as the sender’s name, is filled with animals and parades and written in the form of a lullaby. It was illustrated by Mary GrandPré, an award-winning illustrator who illustrated the U.S. editions of the Harry Potter Series of books.
Age Recommendation: 0 to 6 years
==> Click here to see all “I See Me!” books <==
There are many more I See Me! Personalized books to choose from on the I See Me! website.
Option #3 – My Fairy Tale Books
My Fairy Tale Books have a large selection of personalized children’s books with stories covering many different topics, suitable for children aged from 0 to 12 years.
Their range includes:
- Baby Books
- Birthday Books
- Board Books
- Coloring Books
- Disney Books
- Marvel Books
- Nick Jr. Books
- Peppa Pig Books
- Pet Books
- Storybooks
You can choose from either the hardback or soft cover options, provide a dedication message such as “with love from” or “we love you” along with the sender’s name. You will also be asked for the child’s gender and first name and can include a photo if you wish. All the books are filled with vibrant color illustrations to enthrall every child.
My Fairy Tale Books also have a range of personalized children’s gifts and music CD’s too, just in case you are looking for a personal present for a birthday or other special occasion.
From their collection, I selected “Little One Little One” a whimsical story that is great for preschoolers. It can help to teach your child about counting, animal recognition, rhyme and more.
Age Recommendation: 0 – 12 years
==> Click here to see all “My Fairy Tale Book” books <==
Many more personalized books are available from the My Fairy Tale Books website.
Conclusion
Your child is bound to be delighted to receive a personalized storybook from any of these three personalized storybook providers, as all offer a great product. I See Me, stand out because they are the only actual publisher, whereas the others are simply companies who personalize books that are published by other companies. I really like the “I See Me” range of books because you can also get the photo books that have your child’s face as the face of the lead character in the story. This is such a great idea!
Price wise, all the books are in a very similar price range, so there really isn’t anything to choose between them. Personalized books do cost more than regular books its true, but the sheer delight a child gets from finding themselves as part of the story is worth every single cent.
So that’s about it, I hope that you’ve found this information on personalized books for kids both interesting and informative.
And as always: Now is your turn! It’s feedback time 🙂 How did you like my article? Did it help you? What do you think makes a great story? Is the idea of putting your kid into the story important for you? Do you already own personalized books from a company I missed above? If so, what makes that company and their books special? As always: If you have anything to add, please share it with us in the comments below.
Have the best time reading with your children!
chris
P.S.: Did you ever ask yourself how to put an end to all those exhausting power struggles that can stand between our kids and us as moms or dads? If so, then make sure to read my FULL REVIEW of “Positive Parenting Solutions” HERE. You won’t regret it! I promise!!!
This is such a great post! I didn’t even know that you could personalize books. I have a 5 year old daughter and I really think that she would love this. I also have a 10 month old son, so now I know what I can get my kids for holidays besides toys. Thanks for the detailed review of each website, it makes it easier to choose one.
Hi Chris,
Whole day I was wondering about what kind of gift should I buy for the child of a friend of mine.. and by far this is one of the best ideas I came across. I never heard of personalized books before and while I was reading your article, I must say it looks like a lot of fun for both the child and the parent.
Great article, I only wonder if there are personalized books for adults as well?
Thanks and cheers,Nick.
Thank you for sharing this articles of Personalizes Books for Kids. Yes indeed, this is definitely an eye-opener, my kids will be amazed by this Personalize Book. They will loved it, and they will have a sense of ownership, and will keep it than comparing to regular books. I agree with you though it cost more but the fun and joy our kids will get from the personaliez book is worth every single cent.
I’ve heard of personalized books like these before, and it’s a really cute idea. As a big Star Trek fan, I see it as just a step below Star Trek’s hollodeck, where the characters literally enter stories and play along. It’s also just a great combination, a hybrid of sorts, of storytime and playtime. I do have to say, though, there is something nice about becoming a completely different person in traditional story telling. But I don’t think one has to exclude the other, and these books are a really fun idea.
Hi Chris,
this is really a nice work!..
honestly, i really know how much my kids loves reading story books.. and i’m just imagining, how they will feel, when now the whole story is all about them.. I believe it’s really a nice gift, if i customize it for them especially now my last child will be celebrating his birthday..
though, i have an application here that does that,, it will be in form of PDF.. but I’m delighted to hear that one can get it on Hardcopy..Honestly, we need to make a Deal here!!
Hi Chris,
Awesome article, I really enjoyed the reading! My children are already adult, but my sister has a cute little boy. Soon he will turn out 5 years old and for his birthday, I want to buy him a personalized book. I bet he will love it:)
I think I will choose the first option, “put me in the story”. So he can enjoy the books for several years.
Just a question. I doubt he will not love it. But we never know. Will I be able to return the book and pick another one in case?
Thank you!
Hi Chris,
This is awesome! I was looking for something to give my daughter that would be different and I found your site! After looking at all the different kinds of personalized books, I especially love the second option where she can become the main character and her name being right on the cover! These are great gifts idea and I know that she will love it!
Thanks for your informative article. I am bookmarking your site and will be back for more great ideas!
Denis
I see this kind of article for the first time. I even did not know that something like this exist. It looks very interesting and funny in the same time. I will recommend Option 1 to my sister who have two beautiful girls and I think that this will a big surprise for them. Thanks for such interesting topic Chris!
Hi Chris! I love love love this idea! I have two kids that are within the ranges for these books: one is in middle school and one is 2 years old. It looks like my baby can get books from all three of the retailers, but my middle schooler may only be able to get books from “My Fairytale Books”. I think it’s so cool that My Fairytale Books has the Marvel series! I think my son will love that. Thanks for sharing this. I would have never thought about doing this.
Hey Tiffany! It’s been a while. Sorry that I didn’t manage to get back to you sooner. How did your kids like the books? If you have a chance, let me know. I’d love to hear from you. All the best, chris
Well, thank you for sorting out my Christmas shopping for at least five children in our family who would absolutely love one of these books.
Such a great idea! Easy to order, and not too expensive either.
I can just see how excited they’ll be when they see themselves as the heroes in the story! I would have loved a book like this when I was little!
Yes, reading to our children is so important, but more than that, one of the best activities to do together for fun, and for bonding.
What a related topic this is for me. I actually have one of these. Haha. I got it in Kindergarten. It has my name & my best friends name (at the time) in it also. It was very exciting when we got our books in. We got to personalize it by also writing down our interests. My teacher went through all the details & we each got a book with everything we liked. When we received them, we got to read them aloud to the class. It was a great experience.
Hi Rachel. What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it with us. I bet that makes a beautiful childhood memory that you can hopefully pass on to your own kids some day 🙂 I wish you and your loved ones all the best! chris
Oh, this is such a great idea. I can tell from my own experience. I never read books at all when I was young. I just wasn’t interested in it. Because firstly I didn’t get the characters, and it also felt like I didn’t really have much choices on what books to read. Personalized books are so great! Wow, every kid wants to feel like they are a part of the story. And if they see them or their work in the story, you’re just so much more likely to finish it. I’m not sure why this wasn’t a thing when I was younger.
This is SUCH a great idea! My kids are probably a little too old for this now, but I wish I would have known about it when they were smaller. How cute to put them in a book?
The good news is I have lots of little nephews who would absolutely love this! I’m definitely going to look into “I See Me” as that one looks to be the best. I can’t wait to give these a try!
Do you know how long it takes to get a book shipped once you’ve completed the order?
This sounds like something I could get my 10 year old cousin for Christmas, except she is slightly above the recommended ages of 0-8, do you think it could still work for a 10 year old girl?
Speaking of age limits I wish they have something similar for adults, I would love to be in a customized story book too but I’m 32. Does this company only sell customized books for kids or do they have books for adults too?
Children these days are living the digital life. Yes i get it that it is interesting. Sometimes they are glued to their devices all day long. Books are one way to teach them another great option. I have bought a few good books for my niece, she have less time with her devices now.
Hi Kit! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. How good for you and your nice that you were able to bond more by sharing some “story time” together. Having less screen time is certainly a positive side effect. Good for you guys 🙂 All the best, chris
If this isnt the greatest thing I have come across today I don’t know what is!
I like the concept to get gets more involved in the actual story. Getting a child to actually get in the mind of a character can be so much easier!
I will definitely be looking into this for gifts. It’s nice because there are so many holidays and occasions you could give a personalized book!
Thank you,
Timm
Hi Chris,
I really loved reading your article, it has opened me up to another whole line of gifts to give to the little people in my life. I really didn’t know sites like the ones you showcased existed and I have bookmarked your site for reference.
The thing I like the most about putting your children in stories is that it helps whet their imagination and gives them lots of confidence in life.
Now that’s good parenting.
Kerry
Hi Kerry, I’m glad you liked my article. Thanks for sharing your thoughts an bookmarking it! Recently, I have also published an article about the benefits of reading with young children. Maybe you’ll enjoy that one as well. Please let me know! Much love, chris
Thank you Chris, for sharing this information with us. Yes, it was very informative and interesting to me, because I have 3 toddlers. My oldest son has 4, and he loves when I put him in a story as a hero:)
This is new information to me, that there are personalized books. I´m from Serbia, so probably shipping will cost too much?
Hey Jana, thanks for your kind response. I’m glad to hear that you liked my article. Awesome! I have to say that I didn’t check if those book companies do ship to Serbia at all. But I would also assume that shipping costs would be quite high. Since I don’t know the Serbian language myself, I didn’t have a chance to research the market over there. But if you do find a company in Serbia that prints books like these, please let us know, will you? Thanks and all the best, chris